Question
“People are so free that they can even afford the luxury of
playing at believing they aren’t. If they enjoy being slaves,
they are free, aren’t they?”
A slave who enjoys STAYING, REMAINING a slave is not free,
Sensei.
Anyone who stays or dwells on anything is not free, but a slave.
So if they enjoy remaining slaves, they are not free but
sick.
As for people who PLAY AT BELIEVING they are not free, they
are not only sick but completely crazy.
A madman who recognizes his madness is not a madman but a sage, but someone who
is completely free and plays at being imprisoned is crazy.
Shakyamuni Buddha recognized and integrated his madness, and he shared his experience of
inner liberation: dwelling on nothing. He came
to help.
So of course, Sensei, I won’t force help on someone who doesn’t
want it. But I have so much faith in zazen that these words
of an old master come back to me… When someone becomes free
within, everything around them is liberated. And at work, in the street,
in life, I cannot be completely happy when I see
people in their prisons. I so want to tell them: YOU ARE FREE!
So I call on you, Tai Gen Kosen, to help me a little… How
can I share my experience? Zazen, yes, but how can I express it so that at
least those who suffer because they imagine they are not free
OPEN THEIR EYES?
Forgive me, Sensei. I’m not much for blah blah blah; I’m not good with words.
Anonymous
Answer from Master Kosen
Beware of Zen dogma. There is no worse dogmatist than someone who thinks they aren’t one.
For example, when you say: Anyone who stays or dwells on anything is not free but a slave.
That is an assertion with no foundation whatsoever, and completely idiotic.
It has absolutely nothing to do with Master Eno’s saying: When the mind dwells on nothing, its true dimension appears clearly.
That is perfectly clear, but it does not mean that when the mind dwells on something, it loses its true nature.
Indeed, if I were your Zen master, I would forbid you to speak in Zen words, blah blah blah. Your Zen learning smells musty; it is very, very approximate, and even if you cheerfully mix it with cheap compassion, it will never amount to anything but poor-quality soup.
Then you say again: How can I share my experience? Zazen, yes, but how can I express it so that at least those who suffer because they imagine they are not free OPEN THEIR EYES?
To share your experience and your joy in knowing zazen, you only need to explain it through the clear, precise points of the posture, and explain to these blind people that they must STAY and REMAIN in this precise posture for the true dimension of their mind to appear clearly and for the obviousness of freedom to burst forth in their souls. So you can see that all this has nothing to do with dwelling or not dwelling!!!!
Kosen